Masterful ... [Paul Atwood] gives us a panoramic view of American expansion, beginning with the first invasions of the continent and continuing to the present wars in the Middle East. He does this with a rich command of history, and at every stage measures the pretensions of the state against the real motives of power and profit. -- Howard Zinn, Professor Emeritus, Boston University, author of A People's History of the United States

A clear-headed and compelling account of the development of the American empire, an invaluable corrective to standard myth-making accounts and one that should be read by all students of America's past. -- Marilyn Young, professor of History at New York University, author of Bombing Civilians: A Twentieth Century History (NY, the New press, 2009) and The Vietnam Wars 1945-1990 (NY, Harper, 1991).

In this myth-busting book, Paul Atwood offers an impassioned and provocative challenge to all that Americans think they know about how the United States became a great power. -- Andrew J. Bacevich, author of The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism

About the Author

PAUL L. ATWOOD is a senior lecturer in the American studies department and research associate in the William Joiner Center for the Study of War and Social Consequences, both at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. He is a Vietnam-era veteran and an editor of Sticks and Stones: Living with Uncertain Wars (2006).